The Runaway Christmas Bride

He held out his hands. “Wanna go the long route or the short route?”

“Hmm, how short is the short route?”

“About three minutes.”

“Well, I do want a coffee. But I guess I want to see a little of the town, too.”

He gave a nod and gestured with his right hand. “Then let’s take the long route.”

They walked side by side. Mitch had been in Marietta for the last few years and seemed to know everyone. The houses on Bramble Lane were gorgeous. “That one there. That belongs to Adam Brady and Lisa Renee. Sorry, it’s Lisa Brady now. I just can’t get used to it. He’s a doctor at the local hospital and she owns the bridal store.”

“Eliza mentioned it. She said Lisa would be able to get rid of my dress for me.”

He gave a thoughtful nod. “Already?”

“Definitely. The circumstances of yesterday won’t ever change. I can’t give him what he wants.”

“What does that mean?”

She gave a wave of hand. “It means it’s time to move on.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Saying the words out loud made her feel a little shaky. She hated being pathetic. She hated that Bryce had made her feel like less of a woman. She’d already felt like that all on her own. She didn’t need it from him, too.

But the truth was, as soon as she’d had the news from the doctor they should have sat down and talked about it. They hadn’t. Bryce had made all the right noises, and she’d just flung herself into their wedding plans. Big mistake.

It was easy to be angry with him. Last night she couldn’t sleep, even though the huge bed at The Graff was probably the most comfortable she’d ever been in. It was what she’d overheard – the discussion. The way he’d thought he was doing her a favor by marrying her, then letting her down gently at a later date. By walking away to find a woman to give him the kids he wanted.

He got to do that. He got to get the family he wanted. She didn’t.

Because her option for kids was gone forever. And it was odd. Because she’d never really thought about having kids before. The pregnancy had been an unexpected surprise. What had surprised her even more was the fact she’d been so excited about it.

She’d always figured she’d have kids at some point. She hadn’t expected it so soon.

Then she hadn’t expected the whole chance to be taken away from her forever.

As they reached the end of Bramble Lane, Mitch pointed ahead of them. “This is the school district. We have the rec center, the community park, the elementary school, and my home away from home, Marietta High School.”

She was glad to be distracted. Glad to have something else to think about, something else to talk about. She pulled up the collar on her coat. It was colder than she’d expected. “You said something about that last night.” She nearly laughed. “And Eliza said something else.”

He shook his head. “Oh no. What did Eliza say?”

“She said you’re the school heartthrob.”

He groaned and shook his head. “Oh, please, no.”

“What exactly do you do there?”

“I’m the high school varsity coach and a guidance counselor.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, varsity – what exactly is all that?”

“You know, a team that represents the school athletics, rugby, tennis, or football.”

“Aha, you’re the PE teacher.”

He hesitated. “Not really. I just coach some of the teams. My main focus is the football team.”

They’d walked past the schools and Mitch gestured for her to turn left. “This is Main Street. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on Main Street, then you’ll find it in the street behind. Front Avenue is the street that The Graff is on. In fact the bridal salon is just across from The Graff.”

They walked slowly down the street, passed some offices, a church, a café, and florists. Emma spotted a book store on the other side of the street and crossed quickly almost pressing her nose against the window. There was a tiny Christmas themed train set in the window, with a snow covered train circling around and around. “Isn’t this gorgeous?” A large display of books draped with red and purple tinsel decorated the rest of the window.

“Want to go in? Do you want something to read?”

She hesitated for a second and then shook her head. “I’m glad I know it’s here. But I spotted a whole library at Bramble House I haven’t explored yet, so maybe later.”

The rest of the street was as she’d expect. A pub, a bakery with wonderful smells wafting towards her, a chocolatiers that almost pulled her straight inside the door, a shoe store, a toy store, and a bank. Finally, Mitch pushed open the door to an old fashioned diner with traditional leather-covered booths.

“This place is gorgeous.” Emma sighed as she slid into one of the booths.

“Best burgers in the town,” said Mitch lowly.

She quirked her head. “I thought we were having coffee?”

He shook his head. “Oh no. You’re having coffee, and I’d recommend the pecan pie with that. I’m having a burger.”

She ran her eyes down the menu and laughed. “Don’t tell me. It’s the megaburger.”

His eyes were twinkling. “How did you guess?”

“Because it seems to have every ingredient ever invented.”

The waitress appeared and filled up their coffee cups automatically as she took their order. “Aren’t you going to introduce me, Mitch?”

He shifted in his seat. “Paige, this is Emma from Scotland who just got into town. She’s going to be working at The Graff and is staying at Bramble House right now.” He nodded his head in the other direction. “Emma, this is Paige, she owns the diner and keeps the whole town in line.” He leaned forward and pretended to whisper behind his hand. “And she won’t tell anyone the secret of the pecan pie. My guess is cinnamon.”

Paige grabbed the laminated menu from his hand and swatted him over the head with it. “And a secret’s not a secret i

f you tell.”

“Then let her taste the secret and she can come up with her own ideas. Pecan pie for Emma and a megaburger with everything for me.”

Paige gave him a nod and then beamed at Emma. “Welcome to Marietta, Emma. I hope you like it here.”

She watched as Paige disappeared into the kitchen and leaned back against the leather seat. “Chris mentioned something last night about a stroll and being the star of the show. Do you know anything about that?”

Mitch dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out some buttons. “Funny you mention that. I bought you a button.”

Emma frowned and picked one up. “These aren’t buttons. These are badges.”

Mitch shrugged. “You call them badges, we call them buttons. It’s still the golden ticket. Do you know what that is?”

She laughed. “Of course I do. Every school kid knows that. And don’t try and steal Roald Dahl. We had him long before Johnny Depp hijacked my favorite story.”

He held up the red button. “Well, these are the golden tickets for the Marietta Stroll. If you have one of these you can join in with everything. A bargain at three dollars.”

She reached over and took the red button from his hand, her fingers brushing against his. Tingles. That was what she felt. And she let out a spontaneous nervous laugh.

He kind of gave her a curious stare she tried to ignore as she turned the button over and over in her fingers. A golden ticket for Marietta –did she really want one?

She set the button back on the table. “So, high school teacher, how did that happen?”

He put his hand to his chest in shock. “What? I don’t seem like a high school teacher to you?”

“Yeah, only if I was a fourteen-year-old girl writing a fantasy book.”

He nearly choked and she laughed again. There was something fun about shocking Mitch Holden.

“That’s a bit harsh.”

She shrugged. “Just thinking like a fourteen-year-old. Sometimes it’s fun.” She shook her head, “No, really. You don’t seem like the type.”

He shifted a little uncomfortably on the opposite side of the booth. “It’s not, exactly, my first job.”

Now she was curious. “What was your first job?”